Almost 1.2 million shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2013 by just 23 large retailers who recovered over $199 million from the thieves, according to the 26th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International.

“In 2013, the number of apprehensions and recovery dollars were up for both shoplifters and dishonest employees. For shoplifting, the apprehensions were up 2.5% and the recovery dollars 4.5%; and for dishonest employees the apprehensions were up 6.5% and 2.5% for recovery dollars", said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. "What is also of importance is these increases follow similar increases reported the previous two years!" Doyle added, "Retail theft is a serious problem which is stealing retailers' profits, and causing consumers to pay higher prices to help offset these losses."

Highlights from the survey include:

• Participants: 23 large retail companies with 23,204 stores and over $660 billion in retail sales (2013).

• Apprehensions: 1,180,720 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2013, up 2.8% from 2012.

• Recovery Dollars: Over $199 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2013, up 4.0% from 2012.

• Shoplifter Apprehensions: 1,102,635 shoplifters were apprehended in 2013, up 2.5% from 2012.

• Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: Over $144 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2013, an increase of 4.5% from 2012. An additional $98.6 million was recovered from shoplifters where no apprehension was made, up a significant 22.2% from 2012.

• Employee Apprehensions: 78,085 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2013, up 6.5% from 2012.

• Employee Recovery Dollars: Over $55 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2013, up 2.5% from 2012.

• One out of every 39.5 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2013. (Based on over 3.0 million employees.)

• On a per case average, dishonest employees steal approximately 5.4 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($706.21 vs $130.89).

For full survey results visit: www.hayesinternational.com